Last year, HTC ceased its operations in India amid low sales. In a report at that time, HTC cited that they tend to move towards future technologies and will continue to invest in India via different means. They were talking about the AI, 5G and Augmented Reality at that time. Now, it seems the Taiwanese giant is looking for possibilities to make a comeback in India. As per a report from The Economics Times, HTC is making a comeback but in a different way.
According to a report, HTC is reportedly working on a brand licensing deal with Micromax, Lava, and Karbonn. They will brand out the smartphones under its name and as compensation, the company will earn royalty in return. The executives of Micromax, Lava, and Karbonn have confirmed that the talks are in advanced stages. All these companies will bid together for the HTC brand license in India. Talking about it, one of the executives said “Since HTC used to operate in the Rs 10,000-plus segment, the brand will help the Indian smartphone makers re-enter this price segment, which is now the fastest-growing with intense competition among Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo,”
It is not the usual way followed by HTC to re-enter the Indian market. There are chances that instead of building the brand name, it could negatively impact the brand value. Moreover, Micromax, Lava, and Karbonn’s market share have narrowed to less than 15% in the India market. While, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and few other companies are constituting 64% of the market share.
Overall HTC has not commented on the whole scenario but somehow has confirmed that the company is looking for strategic options in India. HTC Spokesperson even said to our sources that “We will have more to announce at a later date.”
Over the past few years, HTC has been struggling to find a place in the smartphone market. They have tumbled from the top brands to the sidelines of the smartphone market. Even, they have shifted their focus from the mainstream smartphone market to AR devices.
(Source)
